Various Artists- Habibi Funk: A Selection From Libyan Tapes
This compilation isn't a sweeping history of Libyan music - it's a personal journey into the sounds we fell in love with while digging through tapes, conversations, and stories across Libya and beyond. Rather than spotlighting the country's most famous musical exports, the compilation brings forward a mix of overlooked gems and local classics of the cassette era: artists whose work thrived despite political limitations, and scarce international exposure. The music featured here blends reggae rhythms, synthy disco grooves, gritty pop, house, and funk, a vibrant collision of genres that reflects Libya's unique sonic landscape from the 1980s to the early 2000s. During this era, Independent artists relied on makeshift home studios or travelled abroad to record in Tunisia and Egypt, gradually building their own infrastructures for creativity. By the 90s and early 2000s, as access to digital equipment increased, a few of the artists began setting up their own studios - a shift that gave rise to a more self-sufficient recording culture across the country. The resulting sounds are anything but homogeneous. They reflect Libya's geographic and cultural crossroads: North African rhythms meet Arab melodies and deep African roots. Reggae, in particular, took on a local Libyan flavour - not just musically, through the slowed-down cadence of traditional shaabi beats, but socially, as a vehicle for expressing identity and pride. What ties all the artists on this comp together is a boundary-pushing approach to genre and style: recorded in small studios, exchanged by hand, and shaped by a cross-pollination of influences, from Benghazi to Tripoli and beyond.
Track List
- Cheb Bakr - Allom
- Group Hewaya - Irja
- Shahd - Erhal Keef Alshams Tgheeb
- Ahmed Ben Ali - Jara
- The White Bird Band - Ya Ummi
- Khaled Al Melody - Jani Bigool
- Fathi Aldiyqz ; Sons of Africa Band - Palestine Is My Homeland
- Libya Music Band - Kol Al Mawaeed
- Stars of Africa - Baed Al Farha
- Khaled Al Reigh - Zannik
- Khaled Al Zlitni - Jiti Yam Eloyoun Buhoor
- Murad Najah - Hubbi Leeki
- City Lights Band - Kul Ghrub
- Adil Al Ramli - Mawoud
- The Hope Duo - la Tgheeb Anni Wala Youm
UPC > 673790037442
Format > New Vinyl
Label > Habibi Funk
Release Date > Release Date: 7.11.25
Shop online at Darkside Records.
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> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.
Format: New Vinyl/International
Various Artists- Habibi Funk: A Selection From Libyan Tapes
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Release Date: 7.11.25
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This compilation isn't a sweeping history of Libyan music - it's a personal journey into the sounds we fell in love with while digging through tapes, conversations, and stories across Libya and beyond. Rather than spotlighting the country's most famous musical exports, the compilation brings forward a mix of overlooked gems and local classics of the cassette era: artists whose work thrived despite political limitations, and scarce international exposure. The music featured here blends reggae rhythms, synthy disco grooves, gritty pop, house, and funk, a vibrant collision of genres that reflects Libya's unique sonic landscape from the 1980s to the early 2000s. During this era, Independent artists relied on makeshift home studios or travelled abroad to record in Tunisia and Egypt, gradually building their own infrastructures for creativity. By the 90s and early 2000s, as access to digital equipment increased, a few of the artists began setting up their own studios - a shift that gave rise to a more self-sufficient recording culture across the country. The resulting sounds are anything but homogeneous. They reflect Libya's geographic and cultural crossroads: North African rhythms meet Arab melodies and deep African roots. Reggae, in particular, took on a local Libyan flavour - not just musically, through the slowed-down cadence of traditional shaabi beats, but socially, as a vehicle for expressing identity and pride. What ties all the artists on this comp together is a boundary-pushing approach to genre and style: recorded in small studios, exchanged by hand, and shaped by a cross-pollination of influences, from Benghazi to Tripoli and beyond.
Track List
- Cheb Bakr - Allom
- Group Hewaya - Irja
- Shahd - Erhal Keef Alshams Tgheeb
- Ahmed Ben Ali - Jara
- The White Bird Band - Ya Ummi
- Khaled Al Melody - Jani Bigool
- Fathi Aldiyqz ; Sons of Africa Band - Palestine Is My Homeland
- Libya Music Band - Kol Al Mawaeed
- Stars of Africa - Baed Al Farha
- Khaled Al Reigh - Zannik
- Khaled Al Zlitni - Jiti Yam Eloyoun Buhoor
- Murad Najah - Hubbi Leeki
- City Lights Band - Kul Ghrub
- Adil Al Ramli - Mawoud
- The Hope Duo - la Tgheeb Anni Wala Youm
UPC > 673790037442
Format > New Vinyl
Label > Habibi Funk
Release Date > Release Date: 7.11.25
Shop online at Darkside Records.
Follow us on Instagram.
> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.